The fair price of a trading station
The fair price of a trading station
There is always a cost to buying a trading station. What is the right price? How to compare offers from different websites?
What is the right price for a trading station?
Before we talk about price, let’s see together what a trading station should contain. Its price differs according to different criteria:
- Quantity of screens and peripherals provided
- The station quality
- Stocks
- Different services (configuration, delivery, installation and training)
Peripherals
The size and quality of the screens will already make a difference, do not hesitate to choose screens with blue anti-light technology. This limits the amount of blue light emission which makes it much less tiring for your eyes during the day. Do not take a screen smaller than 22 inches, you will quickly be frustrated by the lack of space for your trading.
The screen mount is useful for certain configurations, especially from 4 screens.
The choice of keyboard and mouse is very important. Check the model chosen by the seller. The keyboard must be pleasant and quiet, as well as ergonomic. The mouse must also allow easy handling, essential for trading. We have selected from hundreds of references the ideal keyboard and mouse.
Ideally, your trading station should be provided with speakers and a microphone. In the trading world, you can connect to various forums, both written and audio. Therefore, it is important to be able to communicate easily via a quality microphone. The speakers are also necessary, in order to hear your sound alerts from your trading platform perfectly.
An inverter is always better than a power strip. This allows you to have a “battery” which gives you autonomy in the case of a power cut. You have to choose it and configure it well.
This autonomy in the case of a power outage will be highly appreciated for implementing your exit strategies in good conditions. Its cost will therefore be quickly amortized.
Central unit
The configuration and optimization of the central unit is essential for a stable and reliable station.
Even if you don’t know much about it, the more a site details its offers and what they contain, the more it shows its professionalism and the quality of what it sells.
It remains to decipher what this means:
- Processor (CPU): do not take an i3 or i5 CPU. Even if the latter will be able to do the job, it is not certain that it can withstand high volatilities. Technology is evolving quickly enough, it will be obsolete in a short time. Take an i7 microprocessor, but not just any. Indeed, behind the type of CPU (i7) often hides a number. Choose the latest generation of this CPU, the 9th generation, and ideally choose a processor in its extreme K version (even more efficient). Which gives for example Intel i7-9700K processor (9700: 9th generation, K: extreme version).
- Operating system: the most popular is undoubtedly Windows. Currently, it is better to take Windows 10 Pro 64 bit. It is more flexible and scalable than other Windows for individuals and can support up to 512 GB of RAM.
- Software: the minimum to have in my opinion is an antivirus, a secure web browser with ad blocker as well as encrypted password management software. Of course this list depends on each trader.
- SSD and hard drives: to date it is better to take an M.2 PCIe SSD. It is much faster than other SSDs. A conventional hard drive but with a large capacity is always useful in order to have available storage space.
- RAM or random access memory: the type of RAM must be DDR4, do not take below which is now obsolete. 32 GB is ideal for a trading station with several software and supporting high market volatility.
- Graphics card: the number of cards depends on the number of screens you have. If the motherboard supports multiple displays, you do not need a graphics card. Avoid connecting screens to VGA. Use HDMI, DVI or DisplayPort. Generally, motherboards cannot take more than 3 screens. Beyond that, it is better to go through a graphics card. If you have more than one, they must be exactly the same so that one does not overload the other. They must be chosen from the large list of graphics cards. Those for gamer with several gigas of memory are expensive and are useless for trading. It is better to choose a card that allows intensive use and can be adapted to the trading profession, while supporting the number of screens desired.
- CD / DVD player: ssential, it is recommended that it can also burn.
- Case: it must be robust, made of a good material so that it is solid and can dissipate heat perfectly. As well as silent.
The stock
It is common for sites to deliver quickly because they have a stock of parts. But IT is evolving fast. And having a stock means that what is valid today is no longer valid the following month. Each component evolves and you have to know how to adapt. This is why we have chosen to have no stock in order to offer you new, latest generation components and peripherals.
The services
The choice of your trading station on specialized sites must also relate to the services that are included.
For example, at Ready For Trading, we install at your home all week including weekends.
In addition to installing the hardware, you benefit from our pre-configuration which includes Windows optimization, security software (password management, secure browser with ad blocker, etc.) as well as remote assistance in order to benefit from our support included after your installation.
We also train you on these different software.
In addition to this, we configure your trading station with you and are at your disposal for any request so that you only have to trade when we leave.
Our goal : To provide you a Ready For Trading Station !
We make you a custom installation by installing and configuring your trading station, our intervention is carried out on average between 3 and 4 hours.
Conclusion on the fair price of a trading station
The prices of trading stations may differ from site to site.
But you have to take into account each element of the station, the quality of each component and peripheral as well as the services which are just as important and make sure that you are not going to pay a surplus.
Each detail of the trading station must be indicated with precision, is the case for our trading stations.
I will be happy to discuss this with you by phone at +33 (0)9 81 44 79 50.
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